


Stepping Up

by Lidsworth



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Angst, Bromance to Romance, M/M, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-20
Updated: 2014-12-16
Packaged: 2018-02-21 21:13:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2482655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lidsworth/pseuds/Lidsworth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hide's stepped up for Kaneki throughout his entire life. Now it was Kaneki's turn to do the same for Hide.<br/>Mpreg.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea in my head for a while now. So enjoy!

He was glad he decided to visit Hide when he did. Something had tickled at his conscience, and eventually evolved into some sort nagging sensation that eventually guilt tripped him into visiting the bustling blond. Hundreds of unanswered text lay unopened on Kankei's bright LED screen, all of them sent from Hide.

 

The guilt had been there the first few weeks that the original text had been sent, and by Kaneki, gone unread. But if little contact insured Hide's safety—or at least that was the idiotic lie Kaneki had been telling himself—then little contact it was. Protecting everyone came with prioritizing others over others, and unfortunately, Hide received the short end of the stick long ago.

 

In fact, it had been too long ago, and with a black wig firmly placed atop of his head and on his way to Hide's apartment, Kaneki was scrolling through the abundant text. They ranged from menial greetings and words molded out of boredom, to more serious, sentimental things.

 

They fueled Kaneki's pace.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

He was slightly worried when, after thirty minutes, Hide still hadn't come to the door. Kankei had even called the blond more than once, yet received no answer.

Leaning against the door frame, and watching the sun set behind the sky line, he waited for a response. He looked out into the distance. The buildings seemed as if an artist had doused them in dark ink, and set the sky ablaze, as orange tendrils ate at the sides of the inked out structures.

It looked beautiful, eerily beautiful.

 

He wondered when the last time he'd seen a sunset as beautiful as the one before him had been.

 

Because scraping his ego for more recent memories of breathtaking sunsets proved to be fruitless, he picked his mind for memories buried deep in the craters of his brain. The sunset, he supposed, he attributed to Hide, as that's where their most precious moments together had been spent. On grassy hills before burning skies.

 

In that moment, he felt his throat dry slightly, and guilt boil within the pits of his stomach.

 

He really had put Hide off, hadn't he?

 

In that moment, as the sun slipped behind the buildings, and took with it the burning sky, the ghoul promised to make his absence up to Hide. Maybe a trip to the burger place would deter any tension that Hide bore...or maybe Kaneki was being an idiot by thinking that eating would solve anything.

 

Sighing, Kaneki knocked on the door once more, listening for any sort of movement or indication of a living being on the other side. Nothing. Looking over his shoulder and to the side, Kaneki assured himself that there were no neighbors surrounding the area.

 

Sighing, the ghoul jiggled the knob slightly, and was surprised when he found the door unlocked.

 

Now he was on alert, his hackles raised and senses acute. Hide was smart enough to know his surroundings, know that Tokyo wasn't the ideal place to leave a door unlocked, especially in the 20th ward.

 

“Hide? Hey, i'm coming in, okay,” he called—more so warned any possible intruder, “Your door was un-”  
  


And then he heard it. The sound of something gagging, forcing something raw and hot over torn muscle and tendons. He could almost smell the pungent odor of sweat, infused with vomit and saliva. A heavy salt hung about the air as well.

 

Tears perhaps.

 

He navigated easily and quickly through the apartment, and to the restroom. He was surprised that his absence hadn’t affected his memory.

 

Nevertheless, he was unprepared for the sight of his friend, who was knelt before the toilet before him, heaving into the basin. His clothing stuck to him like another layer of skin, as hot sweat glued them to his form. Knuckles whiter than the porcelain toilet themselves gripped the rims.

 

“H-Hide!” Kaneki slid beside his friend in a second and placed his hands on Hide's shoulders. He was hot, incredibly hot. The white tank top he wore was soaked in sweat, and baggy pants that nearly slipped off of Hide's slender hip bones can't have made things any cooler.

 

The blond tensed as Kaneki's hands made contact with his exposed shoulder, and proceeded to throw up even more in the water. Kaneki snaked his hands around Hide's chest to steady him, and the other, he latched around the blond's abdomen for support.

 

That was when Hide freaked.

 

An elbow lodged itself into Kaneki's ribs in an attempt to push him off, and though as a ghoul, he couldn't really feel the physical force, yet the emotional despair was there all the way. He detached himself from his friend very quickly, as to not disturb him more than he already had.

 

“Hide...” breathed the ghoul at his friend, who continued to heave into the toilet. He wondered what else Hide could be dispensing into the toilet. His guts? His stomach?

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

“I'm not sick,” the blond pinched the bridge of his nose as he leaned back against the couch, repeating the same phrase for the hundredth time, “I'm not sick.”

 

Kaneki ran a hand through his wig, trying his best to contain the worries that fluttered within his mind. Pacing back and forth in front of the couch, he nearly laughed, “Then what's wrong with you? We've been here for hours, and you haven't told me a thing Hide!”

 

“Sound like someone you know?” Hide spat back, quite uncharacteristically of him, “When was the last time we hung out? When was the last time you answered my text, or my calls, or anything like that?”

 

Kaneki stopped his pacing, and his hands slowly fell to his side. The guilt was worse than before, and worse than anticipated. _To keep you safe..._ would Hide even accept that? Did Kaneki even accept that? Was it really to keep Hide safe, or was it just to rid Kaneki of a possible hindrance. 

  
“Hide, I-” 

 

The blond silenced him with a raised hand. 

 

“Ugh, Kaneki I’m sorry,” Hide apologized with a sigh, “I haven't been feeling myself lately...Hey, why don't we go out and eat? Okay?” 

 

Kaneki nodded, wanting to rid himself of the despair that hung about him. Hide looked more than happy to oblige. 

 

“I gotta get ready, so give me a while, okay?” Said the blond, who seemingly shed himself of his previously gloomy personality. 

 

Kaneki nodded, yet he still feared for his friend and his unknown condition. 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

“I kind of miss the eye patch gig,” commented a seemingly healthier Hide, as he buried his hands inside of his hoodie pocket, “You looked kinda cool. Like a pirate.” 

 

“You think so?” Kaneki responded with a light chuckle, enjoying the cool summer breeze that drifted through the semi crowded streets. 

 

“Yeah! It would've looked so cool when Halloween came around! You know what Halloween is, right? I mean, you read those horror books, I'm sure it's in one of them.” 

 

Kaneki smiled, “Yes, Hide. I know what Halloween is.” 

 

They walked together through the streets, occasionally checking into small cafes and eying certain cupcakes and pastries, only to tell the vendor they weren't hungry at the moment, or would stop by some other time. 

 

In one particular cafe, Hide eyed the menu and its half priced coffees. “You want one man? I'll buy.” 

 

“Oh, I already had some.” Kaneki replied carelessly, only to realize that Hide asking Kaneki if he wanted coffee was slightly strange, because only ghouls drank dark coffee, and Hide had no way of knowing Kaneki was a ghoul, not yet, at least. Or did he? Hide was no idiot. 

 

The look of dismay was quite evident on his face, as Hide sought to calm him immediately. 

 

“Hey, why the long face? I thought you liked coffee,” he nudged Kaneki in the arm, “Isn't that all you ever drank when you worked at the cafe? Hey, what happened to you working at the cafe anyway?”   
  
Kaneki forced his laughter to ring over dry vocal chords, though relief slowly began to set in, “I um..yeah, I work somewhere else now.” 

 

Hide didn't question his fictional job, which Kaneki was grateful for. He only shrugged, “Well, if you're not taking a coffee, I'll order one for myself.” 

 

Kaneki raised an eyebrow, still slightly weary of his friends tactics, “Hide, you don't drink coffee.” 

The blond shrugged again as he pointed to what he wanted, “I'll take a small—Oh, I don't know, after like my hundredth time tasting it, it isn't so bad. How many times did you try until you liked it?” 

 

_I drink it because I have to,_ Kaneki thought to himself, “Not many. Just a couple.” 

 

Hide nodded and payed the cashier, then took his drink, “Well, I'm still getting used to it.” 

 

 

Upon throwing up, and sporting a nasty attitude less than an hour ago, Hide was drinking coffee? What the hell happened to the blond in Kaneki's absence. And the question, he meant to keep to himself, though unbeknownst to him, the words had found their way through his teeth into and into the air. 

 

Suddenly, Hide's face largely resembled an old mountain scape, bearing elongated shadows at the cracks, worn and beaten down by the high winds and raging waters. He looked as if he'd been wearing a rather tiresome mask, and at Kaneki's question, dropped his cover for the first time in ages. 

 

“Hide?” Kaneki questioned again, grabbing at his friend's arm, softly, “Are you alright?” 

Hide jumped slightly, and the coffee in his hand nearly fell out of his grasp. He looked at Kaneki, his eyes wide and nearly glazed over. 

 

The blond didn't have to speak, didn't have to speak for Kaneki to know the answer to his question. 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

They found themselves sitting atop of the grassy hill on the play ground that they used to spend hours at. 

Looking at sunsets and shiny stars. Yet there was no beautiful sunset that set the clouds ablaze, no spectacular stars that lit the night sky. Now they both lay on the grass, looking at the dark fluffy clouds, and the small sparkles that peaked through their misty curtains. 

 

Hide hadn't said a word since he'd led Kaneki here, only looked up at the sky. Occasionally, he closed his eyes and sighed, resting a hand on top of his abdomen. Kaneki just looked, afraid that saying something might disturb his friend's concentration. 

 

He would give him all the time he needed. 

 

“You remember when we were kids,” Hide finally said, after minutes of silence, “whenever you were feeling bad, we'd come out here and talk. Remember that?” 

 

Kaneki nodded. 

 

“I miss those days, sometimes,” Kaneki admitted, “Mostly all the time. You know...you helped me out a lot.” Hide had been his only reason for living back then, without Hide, he would have been dead long ago. He owed the blond a lot. 

 

Hide smiled, “I don't regret a single minute of it either man,” suddenly, brown eyes locked with Kaneki's gray ones, “I miss them too. I missed you.” 

 

Kaneki smiled, thankful for this one moment he had with Hide. In the midst of his chaotic life, he could always find solace in Hide. 

 

The blond sighed again, and with it, his eyes closed, “I'm not sick Kaneki.” 

 

Kaneki was silent for a while, afraid of what was to follow next. “Oh..oh, what is it then?” He tried not to sound overbearingly worried, tried not to sound like Hide's over protective friend. But he failed at pulling it off, his voice was laced with fear. 

 

The blond sighed again, “I'm pregnant,” he breathed, “Apparently ghouls can do that to people.” 

 

The warm breeze bore down upon the two, rustling their hair in the wind and the leaves across the playground. Hide's eyes remained closed, his hand knotting into the fabric of his hoodie, just above his abdomen. 

 

Kaneki gulped, and rose a hand. Slowly, he placed it above Hide's abdomen, and allowed it to descend atop of the fabric. His hand nearly jolted away as he felt something hard and solid underneath the shirt. Slowly, he rubbed his hand around the area in small circles, as an attempt to calm the blond down.

 

“I thought babies were formed in the stomach,” Kaneki joked as he tried to lighten the mood, because in all honesty, he was unsure of what to say. 

 

Though his curiosity regarding the father was ran rampant in his head. 

 

Hide smiled half heartily, “Come on Kaneki, I know you're smarter than that.” 

 

They both laughed together, despite the situation, and instinctively, Hide found his fingers gripping Kaneki's own digits. 

 

“So when were you going to tell me that you were a ghoul?” Hide said suddenly. 

 

“Y-You knew?!” Kaneki's voice rose slightly, and instantly, he recoiled his hand, “B-bu-”  
  
“But what? I'm your friend, I'll accept you no matter what,” Hide grumbled, “I'm just hurt that you didn't trust me enough to tell me.” 

 

It pained Kaneki to know that Hide still found room to care for him, despite his own predicament. It pained him to know that perhaps Hide never wanted this, and that maybe the reason why the father wasn't there was because he didn't know, or that Hide didn't want him to know. It pained him to know that Hide had been going through this alone. 

 

He was ignoring the problem, ignoring it for what it really was. Kankei could tell. He'd done the same thing after his torture with Jason, and eventually, things got a lot worse. He refused to let that happen to Hide. 

 

“You should move in with me,” Kaneki said suddenly, siting up and looking down at Hide, “You'll be safe.”

 

Hide sighed, “Thanks, but no thanks,” he sat up as well, “I like my apartment.” 

 

“B-but you're going to have a baby! It's too small,” Kaneki cried, throwing the first excuse he thought of into the air. 

  
“It has two rooms, that's all I really need,” Hide retorted, “Come on Kaneki! I'm not rich, I don't need hundreds of rooms or anything like that!” 

 

“But still...let me move in with you then,” Kaneki tried again, “I really don't want you going through this by yourself.” 

 

Hide shook his head, “You shouldn't have to-” 

 

Kaneki lost it.   
  
“I really don't care, Hide! For the past few months, i've been a shitty friend, okay!? Just let me do this, let me take care of you for once,” he pleaded, grabbing Hide's arm again, “Please...” 

 

Hide actually looked slightly taken aback, and slightly concerned by Kaneki's spirited outburst. 

 

“Y..yeah, sure man...I wouldn't mind the extra help.” Hide muttered. 

 

Kaneki smiled, “Alright then.” Still, even with his additional help, Kaneki's mind still warped around the absent father. 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! Enjoy!

The crack of dawn too sounded like chunks of body fluids hitting water at incredible speeds, as Hide's sweaty knees straddled the bottom of the porcelain toilet, and like a fish out of water, he dry heaved into the basin, willing his stomach to empty whatever else it possibly could.  

 

Kaneki stood at the entrance of the restroom door, tense in posture and unsure of what to do.

 

Hide had been at this for about an hour, and though Kaneki knew nothing about pregnancy, he was almost certain that this wasn’t healthy. Hide hadn’t even eaten much last night, why on earth was he still vomiting?

 

“Um, HIde,” Kaneki began, when he assumed that the vomiting stopped, “Do you need me to get you a glass of water? I Mean…”

 

“...ts okay…” Hide panted, as he wrapped an arm above his sweaty shirt, which clung to his belly with the construction of a banana peel. Kaneki thought that with the shirt clinging to him like it did, he could visually trace the contoured of Hide’s abdomen, and pick out the abnormal curve.

 

Kaneki looked at his feet quickly, after he caught himself staring at the tiny bulge growing on his friend’s body for an unnecessarily long amount of time. He didn’t want to make HIde uncomfortable.

 

“Um..I’ll go make something for us  to eat--I mean something for you to eat,” he corrected himself nervously,  “I, what do you want?”   
  
“A-Anyth-” Hide threw up into the bowl again, gagging and panting into the water, “Anything!”

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

When Hide finally dragged his body to the kitchen, he looked like a literal trainwreck. Kaneki assumed that he tried to make himself look somewhat presentable, but after a prolonged period of barfing, no one really looked their best.

 

Kaneki was setting the table, and slapping whatever healthy breakfast food he’d managed to materialize onto a plate. It was really just a bit of fluffy white rice with an undercooked egg atop of it.

“Good morning. You look like…”   
“Shit?” Hide hardly cursed, so the harsh word seemed nearly foreign on the usually sunshiny blonde's tongue, “Yeah, I feel like it.”

 

The dining table was small and circular, and the entire area was conjoined within the kitchen. The wooden floors were hard and rough, the cabinets old and given little attention, and the sink incredibly outdated. But Kaneki didn’t really expect anything else on Hide’s paycheck, assuming he was still taking a job at the university.

 

Though the rest of the apartment didn’t look any better. It too was small and cramped. Not a place to raise a baby, ghoul or human. He knew that Hide’s two room mentality would shoot down any sort of ideas regarding relocation, but Kaneki would push it later on.

 

“It’s good,” Hide said slowly, as he took a grain of rice with every pinch of his chop sticks, “I like the blandness.” Kaneki smiled, and took a seat across from his friend, crossing his arms, and observing him intake the food.

 

Hide tried not to draw any attention to Kaneki’s strange observations at first,but after a few moments of silence, and Hide trying his best to navigate around the uncooked egg that was now oozing through the crevices of the soft grain, Hide had grown incredibly uncomfortable with the way that Kaneki had began to watch him. Not to mention, he felt a little bad.

 

“Hey...um, sorry about all this,” Hide began, as he looked at his friend, “This is really sudden, I know, and weird. It’s not even your baby, and you’re already trying to help…”

 

“It’s okay Hide,” Kaneki cut off the blond quickly, “Yeah, it’s a bit strange”  And I’m having a little trouble wrapping my head around it, “but I’ve been through stranger.”

 

Though he was having a hard time believing even that.

 

Hide smiled as he munched on the rice, though cast a rather sorrowful glance at the grains, “I”ll have to start eating raw meat soon.”   
  


Kaneki tilted his head, not fully comprehending what he just said, “Like Sushi?”   
  


Hide chuckled, but it was short lived, “I wish, but I can’t even eat fish anymore.”

 

It was then that the actual meaning of Hide’s words kicked in. Ghoul baby...ghouls ate human meat. Suddenly, Kaneki felt incredibly sick.

 

“No Hide! You can’t eat that!” He said suddenly, grabbing the edge of the table forcefully and jumping to his feet, “Y-You’re not a monster!”

 

HIde looked mildly surprised at his friends outburst, though stayed perfectly calm in his seat, “You’re not a monster either, Kaneki. And to my knowledge, you eat human meat? Right?”

 

Kaneki eyes widened at the revelation that Hide had already drilled into his head multiple times, and slowly, he descended back onto his chair, and deflated with a sigh.

 

“I know...it’s just that” You’re the only thing in my life that’s normal. You’re the only thing that’s not a ghoul.

 

“The baby needs it,” Hide said, as he took another small bite of the rice, “he can’t eat human food.”

 

Than why don’t you get rid of the fuking thing, the vile thought came to Kaneki suddenly, out of nowhere, and it took a fair amount of self-restraint not to speak the thought out loud. The fact that the baby seemed to come out of thin air, and that the father was nowhere to be seen only agitated to Kaneki’s anger. Not to mention, the entire circumstance of the conception was rather upsetting as well.

 

Hide wasn’t the kind of guy to go sleeping around with any random stranger, in fact, as far as Kaneki was concerned, Hide had no real interest in sex.

  
  


So how he even managed to squirm in bed with some random ghoul (which was outlandish in itself), Kaneki didn’t know, and he was close to forcing Hide to spill the beans. The entire situation was rather eerie, and though Kaneki had suddenly agreed to help Hide raise a baby that neither of them had any business caring for, a night of sleep and clear thoughts had found him regretting the visit.

 

“Are you seeing a doctor,”Kaneki began suddenly. some what concerned, “I mean, this is getting..you’re getting really sick.”

 

Hide sighed as he forced his rice around, “I sent in blood test to a hospital under a different name, that’s how I found out my diagnosis...and I’ve been told by different ghouls that I “smell”...you know.”

 

There was a smell, now that Hide mentioned it. Somewhat familiar...though Kaneki couldn’t quite put his tongue on it.

 

Kaneki ran a hair through his porcelain locks, “So you’re not seeing any sort of doctor now?”

 

Kaneki hoped Hide couldn't catch the hint of annoyance that was very evident on his breath, though the way Hide looked downcast made Kaneki feel bad.

 

“No. Not really,” he said, rather quietly, almost too “human-like”, too “child-like” for the blond, “I have no idea who to see.”

 

There was a silence,  a very long silence. A very long, uncomfortable silence, in which Kankei raked his mind for something to say. He already felt terrible for forcing Hide into a corner, even if he had been rather irritated to begin with. It was true that he hardly understood the situation, but he felt like an asshole for wanting to back down. Not to mention, Hide could most likely read Kaneki’s thoughts off of his face, and through his body language.

 

He didn’t mean for that to happen.

 

Kaneki knew Hide needed far more help than the two combined could provide. He thought of any ghoul doctors he knew personally, and unfortunately, only one came to mind. Aside from being delusional, he knew Kanou wasn’t evil, perhaps in his group’s endeavour to re-locate him...he could ask for Kanou’s help. It made him sick to his stomach, to think of the doctor working on Hide, but as of now, it was their only option.

 

“Um...I’m kinda tracking him down now,” Kaneki began, his mind flashing back to his small, anti-Aogiri group, “You know, the doctor whom did my organ transplant, Ka-”

 

“That’s alright, “Hide’s demeanor changed slightly, as if the name Kanou unsettled him, “I-I’ve already been looking for doctors.”

 

Kaneki looked carefully at the way Hide began to move his fork furiously around his rice, as if he was attempting to wade off a discomfort. He even  seemed slightly nervous.

 

“Sorry,” Hide spoke again, “I just...I just don’t…”

 

The rest of the breakfast carried out in silene, and Kaneki figured that Kanou had a lot to do with the entire situation. Forcing HIde to spill the beans would be an idiotic, and prickish move.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

Morning sickness wasn’t called morning sickness for no reason. Less than an hour after the silent breakfast, Hide had prepared himself for his day, though Kaneki wasn’t at all certain what he did during the day hours.

 

Hide has said something about a job, or something of the sort, though perhaps he was quitting, because he’d found what he was looking for. Kaneki was somewhat honored that Hide had put himself in the line of fire to find him, though he wasn’t entirely supportive of the idea.

 

Anything that endangered Hide unsettled Kaneki more than anything.

 

Though with him gone off to work, and hopefully turning in his two weeks notice, Kaneki had time to snoop around, and ask any of his colleagues if they’d heard of anything like this before ( he needed to return to his apartment anyway, and let them all know he was okay). Kaneki wasn’t entirely familiar with the workings of male ghouls and their reproduction, though he was sure that someone was bound to know something.

 

He needed someone who knew what to do, anyone. Because he smelled it. The same pungent (yet appetizing) scent he smelled when he stood up against Jaon, or the same scent he smelled when he’d first disarmed the blue eyed investigator.

 

It was fear, and it was radiating all around Hide. Especially when the topic of Kanou came up. Kaneki wanted more than anything to get to the bottom of this, wanted to force Hide to spill out the whereabouts of the father, whom he was, and what he had to do with Kanou.

 

Kaneki had lost the doctor once before. Perhaps Hide’s connection to him could lead to his capture? And hopefully a sense of rest within Hide?

 

Kaneki didn’t didn’t know, though he was certain that they did need help, a lot of it. Hide wasn’t grasping the entire situation, and Kaneki would be damned if he lost the baby or his best friend to any sort of medical conflicts. His anti-aogiri group just became pro-Kanou.

  
And the thought of a baby ghoul wasn’t so bad, at least Hinami would have someone to watch and talk to. He just needed to break the news to them first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So basically this chapter was Kaneki's entire thought process regarding the situation, and the observations he made. Next chapter, the identity of the father will be revealed! I hope you enjoyed this one, please tell me what you think! i really love when you guys comment! Have a wonderful week, and God bless!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it, do comment or leave a quick Kudos if you did! The father is important, which is why he's been so exaggerated.  
> Technically, I could leave this as a oneshot, but I'll most likely continue it. The first chapter is pretty bloodless, but later on, it will get a lot worse. So for now, it has no warnings, but they'll be added as the chapters come.  
> Have a wonderful week, and God bless!


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